This time around, I decided to spend my vacation days right here in the U.S. traveling to the Pacific Northwest. When I told people we were traveling to the West Coast via rail, most people laughed, stared bug-eyed, or had an awkward combination of the two.

After all, Long Island to Oregon is a long way to travel by train. I too had my doubts at times; most of what I learned about traveling out west came from cowboy movies and playing “Oregon Trail” in elementary school.

Upon arriving in Portland, 65 hours and 3,216 miles of track later, I didn’t regret it one bit. We met an incredible variety of interesting people and saw the most breathtakingly beautiful American landscapes.

I have always found airports and planes so stressful and chaotic, so the train was a nice change of pace, relaxing and peaceful. The ticketing and boarding processes were easy and quick, and the Amtrak staff were warm and accommodating all the way. Despite the extensive amount of activities and movies we packed, there was never time to be bored. We spent most of our days chatting with other travelers in the observation car, snacking and playing cards in the café and enjoying a good meal and bottle of wine in the restaurant car. An added bonus: the price was reasonable! Where else can you find cross-country transportation and three nights accommodations for less than the price of a flight?

Fellow diners viewing the wind turbine scenery

Passing through the steel mills of Indiana, waking up to the just-golden fields of wheat in North Dakota and listening to historians through the Rocky Mountains taught me more about this country than I could read in a book or see in pictures. It was especially enlightening to travel coast-to-coast at this time of year, when the country is so politically polarized. From the dreadlocked activists in the streets of Portland, to the road-side protesters along the route, there was no shortage of people advocating their beliefs. The current political climate also enabled for some engaging conversation with strangers. Even friends from Canada impressed me with their in-depth knowledge about the presidential election.

After our train travels commenced, we spent the day wandering the unique thrift stores and fair trade shops of Portland, and spent the night at the “Last Thursday” festival with some friends. The next day we drove about four hours north to the Gorge in Quincy, Washington, stopping only to view the majestic wind farms and to take advantage of bargain prices at the farm stands. Once at the campsite, we spent our time hiking a petrified forest, relaxing by the river, and of course enjoying three nights of shows by the Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheatre; the original purpose of our self-proclaimed pilgrimage.

The entire vacation was memorable, but even after spending time in Chicago, Portland and Seattle and camping the Columbia River in Washington, the train travel was still a highlight. The views and the people were second to none and I would recommend it to anybody.

Wisconsin natives Karl and Nancy, retired farmers, now spend their time visiting grand and great-grand children around the country via train when they’re not bicycling 20 miles a day. What a life! If time weren’t a factor, I would travel by rail to any destination in the country.

Now that it’s off my bucket list, I’ll just have to save the rest of my train travel for retirement like my train buddies.

Tara Bono is the program coordinator for Citizens Campaign for the Environment. She can be reached at tbono6@gmail.com.